So my family just lost our home in the Camp Fire (goodbye WSM!). The new place we are staying doesn't allow charcoal or gas grills or smokers (we could only find an appartment). They will, however allow an electric smoker. We really want to be able to smoke ribs, chicken and pork butt (those are the family faves). Does anyone have any suggestions?
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Sorry to hear about your loss. A friend of mine moved from Miami to Redding and has sent very scary looking photos of the fires he has seen. We get hurricanes sometimes, but at least I can see those coming in advance. Fires are WAY scarier.
Anyhow i I have a masterbuilt 36 inch digital smoker. With a glass door that you can’t see through unless you remember to clean it all the time. It works OK for pork and ribs. It won’t be like your WSM of course but it is better than nothing at all. It’s basically your oven only with wood chips. I load chips in for the heat up, with the wood chip adding thing out and the top vent open. This allows the chips to catch on fire (speeding up the pre-heat) then when the food goes in I add more chips. Smoke doesn’t last long so you have to keep adding them. Airflow isn’t great, so I used to leave the adding thing loosely fitted sometimes. I got a smoke flavor, but no smoke ring or anything.
But...it didn’t do chicken too well. Max temperature was 275. I could push that with wood chip fire, but not for long. But you can compensate by blasting the chicken in your oven on broil setting to crisp the skin (at 275 it’s rather rubbery). Or taking it out of the smoker and finishing in the oven at 325-350.
So at the end of the day I would say they are OK, and many times they are the only option (apartments, condos, burn bans, and so on). But they have limitations, so as long as you keep those in mind you can work around them.
Dont spend too much, the masterbuilt digital is adequate. I don’t see the point in mote expensive models other than higher wattage for higher temperatures, but like I said you can work around lower wattage by using your kitchen oven. At least that is my opinion. -
Sorry to hear about your loss...Keep in mind that the electric smoker "smoke flavor" profile is much much lighter than what your WSM produced.. (there are also ways around that)
That being said.. Sadly I'm out of the country until Dec 22nd.. However I have a 'Smokin It' Model 2 smoker and if you'd like I'd, be more than happy to pass on to ya.
Just need some cleaning, but doesn't get too much use at my place. The highest temperature is 250. VERY well insulated and I bought rib hooks and most of the accessories that were offered at that time (2 years ago). Also just bought a very good cover for it too. This thing is quite heavy and much sturdier built than the cheaper electric smokers that you'll find in HD, Walmart, etc.
So if ya want, just let me know and it's yours..Comment
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treesmacker it's all about helping one another.. It's the least I could doLast edited by Timcee; November 20, 2018, 01:38 AM.
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I'm sorry for your loss. I have a very nice electric smoker that sits unused since I purchased a SnS. You probably won't be satisfied with the smoke you can put on meat with an electric, but if it's the only option, go for it. If you decide to buy, I agree that you should not spend too much.Comment
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With proper care, an due diligence, one can, indeed produce Great Food on an electric Smoker...
As with many others here in Th Pit, I used to smoke on a Brinkmann bullet type water smoker; I still have two, t'other one is a charcoal cooker...
Just a matter of time, temperature, technique, etc., like all cookin is, when ya git down to brass tacks...
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I've had one of THESE Old Smokey electrics for many years and even though it doesn't see much use these days, it's turned out some really tasty smoked grub. I made a thermal jacket for it using a water heater insulating blanket so that it will work just fine during the worst winter weather that Colorado can throw at it.Comment
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@bvelikonia, sorry for your loss; glad you made it out. Can't help with the electreic smoker as I have never used on. I have a buddy that has a Masterbuilt electric that he likes a lot. I haven't sampled his results though - I need to get by there and check it out.Comment
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With my masterbuilt electric I beat a neighbor with a pellet grill in a neighborhood brisket cook off. I attribute that more to what I learned from Meathead’s book than the equipment. I brined, he didn’t. I wrapped, he didn’t. I used the water pan, he didn’t. And so on. But still I got better results from what should have been a lesser cooker. -
I am right there with you, SmokeyGator. Meathead is the man - between him and all the stuff I pick up from this site, my food is light years better than it was.
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I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker - I think it is the 30" model. It was the first smoker I purchased, and I still have it today. I thought about getting rid of it, but it has its uses - it is great for making bacon, jerky, summer sausages and OK for making pulled pork, brisket, and ribs. As others have said, the smoke is not as pronounced, but one of the ways I worked around that is to add the Masterbuilt Cold Smoking Kit. Pretty sure I picked mine up at Bass Pro with some points that needed to be used. Either way, this attachment allows you to add wood chips to an internal chimney, and they are burned off by a coil in the bottom of the attachment. I can get around 5-6 hours of solid smoke on the meat, so I don't have to continually add chips every 30 mins or so. I'm not going to promise you smoky-goodness, but I can assure you that you will get smoky-pretty-goodness. :-) And, IMO, you get more smoke on the meat than just replenishing chips every half-hour.
Like SmokeyGator I have a version with a glass window. It is truly overrated. You have to clean it every time, or it will become a blacked out pane of glass. Plus, when you are smoking for more than 5+ hours you are going to have a hard time seeing through it. Do as you wish and YMMV, but I would say save yourself some money and don't worry about the glass door. There is the 275* upper limit, so you don't really have the hot and fast option, if that is a desire; however, you could always smoke and then finish in your oven.
Glad you are safe. Good luck!Comment
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The patio portable electric water smoker made by Masterbuilt might be what you want. It only weighs 25 pounds and has two convenient folding handles that make it easy to move. Just set the cooking temperature and forget it until the meat is ready, much like with your oven. You can cook two chickens and two racks of ribs on it at once, or even a 16-pound turkey. A picture of it is attached. When I bought it in October of last year, it cost less than $100.
Wood chips are put into its chip box to create smoke that flavors the meat. Most of the food you will smoke will require two and sometimes three chip boxes of smoking. So that you do not have to deal with cleaning the hot embers from a chip box to refill it, I suggest you buy a second chip box. The water pan should have boiling water poured into it so the smoker doesn’t have to heat cold water to boiling. Water smokers keep the meat bathed in steam, which enables it to absorb smoke more easily and keeps it from drying out.
Your smoker must be seasoned before you cook on it. Seasoning burns off residues on the metal in the interior of the smoker left from the manufacturing process that would affect the taste of the food. Follow the instructions in the owner’s manual to season your smoker.
If you use or purchase an extension cord to use with your smoker, be sure the amps and volts on the extension cord are the same as those on the cord that connects to your smoker. Otherwise, the smoker might not get to a high enough temperature.
Here is the website of an informative video about your new smoker. It’s the video that convinced me to get this smoker even though I already have other smokers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4ghYhKfyms
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Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. It sounds like I might just have to ride out the next 6 months or so without a smoker, then make up for lost time this summer and invest is a seriously sweet set up. Thanks again and i appreciate all the support. You all are super cool.Comment
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